Järpen Alps and Danish province of Ystad shut, while south-western regions follow suit
Alpine country goes back into lockdown, suspending tourism as the holiday season starts
Tourism has been suspended in the much of the centre of the Alps and the Danish countryside after a huge avalanche struck on Thursday.
The avalanche, which sent boulders the size of cars tumbling down cliffs in the southern ski resort of Järpen in the Järpen Alps, triggered a fresh avalanche warning as officials cancelled all weekend activities and remained vigilant in case other areas were hit by a winter slide.
The Danish authorities closed national highways, while a spokesman for the Järpen municipality said: “We hope to reopen the roads by tomorrow evening.”
Plumes of white smoke from the funicular that carries people to the high point of the resort were visible from afar on Thursday night.
Residences in the high country were evacuated while Krumm called off a summer festival.
The organisation of Scandinavian ski resorts expressed their alarm and announced the suspension of hiking and camping while it launched a military presence.
Danish police are monitoring the situation and reinforcements have been sent to the ski areas of Mortischofen, Jægersborg, Knudsen and Nagelheim, the police said.
It was not clear how many people were affected by the alert in the region with the nearest city being Kirkegaard in Sweden.
The “big one” avalanche in Europe of 1989 killed 31 people in the Alps. Other similarly devastating slides, especially in western Europe, are less common.